System and method for the detection and treatment of infection by a microbial agent associated with HIV infection

ABSTRACT

A method of treating a patient, comprising administering at least one antibiotic, e.g., doxycycline and ciprofloxacin, sufficient to substantially treat an intracellular bacterial organism present in at least erythrocytes, e.g., over a course of at least two weeks; and subsequently administering at least one immunostimulant, e.g., which directly or indirectly increases levels of immunostimulatory cytokines in the patient, and at least one antioxidant, e.g., glutathione, to effectively treat a coinfection of the patient with a virus. The intracellular bacterial organism may be a rickettsiales-like organism, and the virus may be HIV.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims benefit of priority from U.S. Patent Provisional Application No. 61/903,182, filed Nov. 12, 2013, the entirety of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of detection and treatment of microbial infection, and more particularly infection associated with HIV.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application incorporates by reference U.S. Provisional Application 61/716,123, filed Oct. 19, 2012; U.S. Provisional Application 61/591,111, filed Jan. 26, 2012, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/752,003, filed Jan. 28, 2013; U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 61/186,610; 61/358,282; 61/476,110; 61/476,545; Ser. Nos. 12/797,286; 13/168,367; 61/591,111; and PCT/US2010/038160.

Based on the hypothesis that AIDS is caused by a unique agent, the HIV retrovirus, antiretroviral (ARV) therapy including a combination of inhibitors of the viral enzymes, reverse transcriptase and of protease has been utilized in HIV infected patients with significant success worldwide. The viral multiplication as assessed by the number of viral RNA copies in blood has been reduced to almost zero, resulting in increase of CD4 T lymphocytes, the main target of the virus, and in prevention of the most deadly opportunistic infections.

However, interruption of this treatment leads to a rapid rebound of the virus, indicating that a reservoir of HIV persists unaffected by the treatment. In fact, viral DNA can be detected by sensitive methods (PCR) in the plasma and red blood cell (RBC) fraction of HIV infected patients under continuous ARV therapy (1). Up to now, there has been no existing test to further explore the status of HIV, after ARV therapy has made the viral RNA undetectable in the patient's blood.

A strong oxidative stress has been observed even at the early stage of HIV infection (2). This oxidative stress, as detectable by measurement of various blood parameters (3), is only partly reduced by the ARV treatment.

Oxidative stress is a potent inducer of lymphocyte activation, a status required for HIV integration and multiplication (2).

Oxidative stress is generated by bacterial infections and therefore there is a possibility that a specific bacterial or bacterial-like factor is a promoter of HIV multiplication.

Alpha-proteobacteria of the Order Rickettsiales have an obligate intracellular lifestyle, and have coevolved with their various eukaryotic hosts, resulting in small reductive genomes and strict dependency on host resources. A high portion of Rickettsiales genomes encodes for proteins involved in transport and secretion. Some rickettsiales are symbionts and others are pathogenic.

Acinetobacter is a bacteria of order gamma-proteobacteria, and is widespread in the environment and is known to cause human pathology, especially in immune-compromised individuals. Acinetobacter is not as a rule an intracellular parasite, and is known to form biofilms.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Microorganisms associated with HIV infection that are detectable in human red blood cells, but not in human leukocytes or other kinds of nucleated human cells. The identification and characterization of microorganisms associated with HIV infection is of interest for purposes of assessing risk of HIV infection or determining the status of an HIV infected patient, for assessing risk or status of opportunistic infections, and to evaluate modes of treatment for HIV infected subjects.

The present invention provides a new tool to give information to the clinician as to whether the residual virus is persisting indefinitely in the patient's body, or is progressively declining.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/752,003 (Montagnier), US Pat. Pub. 2013/0196939, expressly incorporated herein by reference, describes some specific primers for the detection by PCR of certain DNA sequences present in red blood cells of HIV infected patients and in some HIV negative individuals of African origin or living in Africa. These sequences, respectively 237 and 213 base pair (bp) long, originate from human chromosomes 1 and 7, and seem to be associated with a microbial agent present in red blood cells, as shown by their sensitivity to antibiotic treatment, as discussed in Example 2.

A microbial agent was detected by PCR primers for 16S ribosomal DNA designed for Rickettsiales, and its 16S DNA amplicon had high sequence homology, about 90%, to some Rickettsiales (an alpha-proteobacteria) but was also close to the 16S DNA of the bacterium Acinetobacter (a gamma-proteobacteria). This organism was found in both normal and HIV infected individuals, but the human chromosome 1 and 7 sequences are only associated with the organism found in HIV-infected individuals and in the RBC of some HIV negative Africans. The organism is associated with, and likely within, the red blood cells, and the presence only in the cellular fraction and not in the plasma would tend to indicate that the organism is an obligate intracellular parasite. Because the organism is found in normal (healthy) individuals, it may be a symbiont. Based on these characteristics, it seems appropriate to consider the organism to be related to or within the rickettsiales, though full sequencing and formal taxonomy has not been completed. The relation of the 16S RNA to acinetobacter may have resulted from a horizontal transfer event, and thus does not necessarily represent a more global phylogenetic relationship.

The putative biology of the organism thus makes a rickettsiales classification, e.g. a mitochondria-like organism, more likely, though full identification is not yet available, and presumptive characteristics indicate that this organism is not a known rickettsia (a genus within rickettsiales).

Rickettsiales are obligate intracellular parasites. It is believed that such a lifestyle can cause a relatively rapid evolutionary divergence for closely phylogenetically related organisms due to host cell differences and selective pressures. The order displays broad phenotypic, antigenic, and genetic diversity, though the 16S RNA sequence is sufficiently conserved to be generally useful for phylogenetic classification.

In addition, the DNA polymerase of various organisms within the alpha-proteobacteria has characteristics of a reverse transcriptase, i.e., an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, which in some cases permits acquisition and integration of foreign genes from RNA sequences. It is possible that this activity is relevant to the acquisition of the human chromosome 1 and 7 sequences by the organism. HIV also has a reverse transcriptase, and involvement of HIV in acquisition by the rickettsiales like organism of the human DNA sequences cannot be ruled out.

Based on PCR evidence, the Rickettsiales-like organism has been found to be present in RBC of the general population (normal) of Caucasian or African origin. However, the human chromosome 1 and 7 sequences are only found to be present in the RBC of HIV infected patients, being apparently associated with the Rickettsiales-like organism, since they are decreased at the same rate in patients receiving a strong antibiotic regimen.

Therefore, one aspect of the invention is the measurement of the human chromosome 1 and/or 7 sequences in patient red blood cells, which appears associated with HIV infection. Because this marker is independent of HIV antigens and particular genetic sequences, it can provide further information for patients where the HIV infection status is indeterminate from standard lab tests. However, since this marker is dependent on coinfection and/or antibiotic treatment status, and perhaps antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, it provides different information to a clinician.

According to one aspect of the invention, based on an understanding that the rickettsiales-like organism is likely responsible for generation of free radicals and oxidative stress, an antibiotic therapy is applied to substantially reduce a load of the organism, and thus also reduce the oxidative stress on the host cells. Antioxidants. Such as glutathione, ascorbic acid, polyphenols, tocopherol, carotenes, ubiquinone, etc., may be administered to bolster host antioxidant reserves. Subsequently, immunostimulant therapy is commenced, to bolster host reserves of glutathione, and to stimulate the host immune system.

For example, if, in an HIV-infected patient, the rickettsiales like organism associated with the human chromosome 1 and 7 sequences is cleared, and the patient is treated with concurrent ARV therapy to reduce HIV activity to undetectable levels, a cessation of the antibiotics may lead to a return of the rickettsiales-like organism. However, by following antibiotic therapy with administration of immunostimulants and antioxidants, an endogenous response to the organism may be induced to avoid pathological consequences of infection.

Immunostimulants include, for example: Cytokines: including IL-2, G-CSF, GM-CSF; Microbial fragments/toxins: beta-glucans, (Wagner, 1999); Osato Fermented Papaya Preparation (Osato Laboratories, Japan); Herbs: e.g., Echinacea, (Wagner, 1999), astragalus, garlic, ginseng, green tea, Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia), maca, and Reishi mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum), or extracts from them; Probiotics: Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (Gill and Cross, 2002; Clancy, 2003); Antioxidant Vitamins: Ascorbic acid (Hughes, 2002; Allard et al., 1998); Animal Products: Propolis (bee gum), (Sforcin, 2007). See, Allard, J. P. et al. (1998). “Effects of vitamin E and C supplementation on oxidative stress and viral load in HIV-infected subjects,” AIDS 12, pp. 1653-1659; Clancy, Robert (2003), “Immunobiotics and the probiotic evolution,” FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology (August 18), Vol. 38(1), pp. 9-12; Cohen, Jonathan and William G. Powderly (2004). Infectious Diseases. 2nd ed., 2 vols. New York: Mosby, p. 1402; Dillon, Kenneth J. (1998). Healing Photons. Washington, D.C.: Scientia Press; Dillon, Kenneth J. (2003). Close-to-Nature Medicine. Washington, D.C.: Scientia Press; Dillon, Kenneth J. (2008). Intriguing Anomalies: An Introduction to Scientific Detective Work. Washington, D.C.: Scientia Press Garden of Life (www.gardenoflifeusa.com); Gill, Harsharnjit S. and Martin L. Cross (2002), “Probiotics and Immune Function,” in Calder, Philip C., C. J. Field, and H. S. Gill. Nutrition and Immune Function. New York: CABI, pp. 251-272; Hughes, David A. (2002), “Antioxidant Vitamins and Immune Function,” in Calder, Philip C., C. J. Field, and H. S. Gill. Nutrition and Immune Function. New York: CABI, pp. 171-191; Kuvibidila, Solo and B. Surendra Baliga (2002), “Role of Iron in Immunity and Infection,” in Calder, Philip C., C. J. Field, and H. S. Gill. Nutrition and Immune Function. New York: CABI, pp. 209-228 Microminerals; Prasad, Ananda S. (2002), “Zinc, Infection and Immune Function,” in Calder, Philip C., C. J. Field, and H. S. Gill. Nutrition and Immune Function. New York: CABI, pp. 193-207; Sforcin J M. (2007) “Propolis and the immune system: a review.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 113(1):1-14; Ullman, Dana (2003), “Controlled Clinical Trials Evaluating the Homeopathic Treatment of People with Human Immunodeficiency Virus or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome,” The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 133-141; Wagner, Hildebert, ed. (1999). Immunomodulatory Agents from Plants. Boston: Birkhaeuser.

Therefore, one aspect of the technology is to apply an antibiotic therapy to clear the rickettsiales-like organism, in a patient having concurrent HIV infection, and then treat the patient with antioxidants and immunostimulants.

Assuming that the rickettsiales-like organism is not merely an incidental symbiont, but rather is a cofactor for HIV infection and progression of the disease to AIDS, the antibiotic regimen may also be therapeutic for the HIV-associated pathology (bit not for the HIV itself). While continuous antibiotic therapy is typically contraindicated, an immunostimulant therapy bolstered with antioxidant therapy may lead to persistent benefit to the patient.

Likewise, as the organism is identified and cultured, antibiotic sensitivity assays conducted and targeted therapy instituted with a narrow spectrum antibiotic rather than broad spectrum therapy. Such narrow spectrum antibiotics may tend to have a lesser effect on other microbes and therefore reduced incidence of antibiotic resistant strains.

Another aspect of the invention provides specific primers used to detect the organism. These 16S ribosomal primers are not specific for the human chromosome 1 and 7 fragments, and therefore can detect this organism in various human populations. Since the biology of this organism has not been fully studied, it may also be associated with other diseases or pathology, and identification of the organism is one step in determining its relationship to disease or human biology.

A separate set of primers has been found to amplify a sequence associated with this organism that selectively occurs in coinfection with HIV.

Because of its affinity for human red blood cells, one might assume that the organism has an oxidative metabolism and likely reliance on cellular glutathione and thioredoxin reductase and superoxide dismutase, etc., to detoxify the free radicals it produces. Likewise, the acquisition of human chromosome 1 and 7 sequences might indicate that the organism is found in erythroblasts and/or other erythropoietic cells, and perhaps other nucleated cells or platelets. Indeed, the rickettsiales-like organism may be a true symbiont for human RBCs, and provide a cellular maintenance function to, for example, increase lifespan. Alternately, this may be a chronic pathogen, which provides no significant host benefit.

It is believed that the organism is a cofactor for infection and/or pathogenicity of HIV. It is therefore another aspect to treat the microbial infection with antibiotics, which may be, for example, doxycyline and/or ciprofloxacin, given in traditional manner. Targeted antibiotics may also be employed based on antibiotic sensitivity assays.

Concurrent therapy with immunostimulants while infection is apparent and being treated with antibiotics is undesired, since each can consume antioxidants, and together cause a suppression of glutathione and shift in the host to a Th2 immune response pattern, instead of the desired Th1 response pattern. Thus, the preferred therapy treats the microbial organism with antibiotics prior to commencing immunostimulant therapy. While antioxidant therapy can be concurrent with both phases of the therapy, it is qualitatively more important during immunostimulant therapy to ensure a Th1 response pattern.

It is believed that these rickettsiales-like organisms produce an oxidative stress on the host, which in turn promotes HIV replication. It is therefore a further aspect of the technology to treat patients infected with this organism with an antioxidant therapy regimen, such as glutathione, alpha lipoic acid, ascorbic acid, polyphenols, CoQ, resveratrol, carotenes, tocopherols, tocotrienols, lycopene, etc. Preferably, the end result of antioxidant therapy is an increase in hepatic and/or erythrocyte glutathione reserves, either by direct administration of glutathione or indirect methods of increasing glutathione.

With an obligate intracellular lifestyle, Alpha-proteobacteria of the order Rickettsiales have inextricably coevolved with their various eukaryotic hosts, resulting in small, reductive genomes and strict dependency on host resources. Unsurprisingly, large portions of Rickettsiales genomes encode proteins involved in transport and secretion. (5) The rickettsiales-like organism may therefore be targeted through a unique or critical transport system, for example using a small-molecule therapeutic agent that has access to the cellular compartment of RBC.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B show gel electrophoresis of the PCR amplified 400 bp band using pRICK1 primer in HIV positive patients compared with two HIV negative individuals.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show gel electrophoresis using the same conditions as in FIGS. 1A and 1B on HIV negative patients with autism, Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis, showing no 400 bp band.

FIG. 3 shows gel electrophoresis using the same conditions as in FIGS. 1A and 1B, demonstrating that the 400 bp sequence can be grown in vitro together with the Rickettsiales-like agent in the cell line HL60, and that it is also sensitive in vitro to treatment by chloramphenicol.

In the Figures:

BB31 DNA is from Borrelia burgdorferi;

EMK and ELL are DNA samples from African HIV negative individuals, positive for 213 and 237 bp human chromosomal sequences;

TITY and VIC are DNA from Caucasian HIV positive patients;

086 and 097 are DNA from African HIV positive patients;

CHA is DNA from an HIV positive Caucasian patient; and

RBC extract grown in HL60 cells, after centrifugation at 15 000 rpm, for 30 minutes (far right bands in FIG. 3); DNA was extracted from supernatant and pellet; Note that the 400 bp band is located in the pellet, confirming it belongs to a micro-organism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Example 1

One aspect of the present invention describes a set of new PCR primers for detecting a 400 bp DNA sequence uniquely present in the red blood cells of HIV infected patients, whatsoever their geographical location and their ethnic origin. This 400 bp DNA sequence has not been detected in the red blood cells of HIV negative individuals.

The 400 bp sequence has some sequence homology with the “Gypsy” retrotransposon sequence of human genomic DNA (e.g., 70-80%).

The sequences of the primers are the following:

1) pRICK 1 S SEQ ID NO: 001 5′-CCT GAG AAG AGA TTT AAG AAC AAA 2) pRICK 1 AS SEQ ID NO: 002 5′-CCA TAT ACT GCT TCT ARY TGC T

The optimal conditions for detecting the 400 bp amplicon by PCR in red blood cells are: annealing temperature of 56 degrees Celsius, with 50 cycles of amplification (up to about 70 cycles) in a thermocycler.

However, this sequence appears to be part of the human genome, as it is detected also by the same primers in a 99% homologous sequence located in the p region of human chromosome 1 (using BLAST against a human genome databank), a region distant from that of the 237 bp sequence (located in the q region), discussed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/752,003 (Montagnier), US Pat. Pub. 2013/0196939, also located in human chromosome 1 (See Example 2).

FIGS. 1A and 1B compare, on the left, several HIV negative individuals, and on right, several HIV positive patients: only the HIV positive patients show the characteristic 400 bp band detected by the new primers in the RBC DNA.

Red Blood Cells (RBC) were purified on a Ficoll gradient and DNA was extracted by a Qiagen kit according to the manufacturer's recommendations.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show negative results with the DNA of RBC from patients suffering from other diseases (autism, Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis).

In the same experiment, the human genomic DNA was extracted from the leukocyte layer obtained from the same Ficoll gradient and, as expected, the sequence was detected by PCR in the DNA of all individuals, HIV positive and HIV negative.

Control PCR with the Beta-actin gene confirms the lack of this DNA in the RBC fraction, unlike in the genomic DNA contained in the leukocyte fraction, revealing that the RBC fraction was not generally contaminated with genomic DNA from nucleated cells in HIV infected patients, but that only some specific DNA sequences are incorporated in the RBC, associated with the microbial factor.

A test was also conducted seeking to determine whether the 400 bp sequence was present in the HIV genome. For this, we used a DNA plasmid including the full infectious HIV DNA genome (4). PCR analysis with the 400 bp primers indicates that this sequence was not part of the HIV genome.

In addition, primers for detection of a 194 bp fragment of the HIV LTR were also tested. Results were negative in the RBC fraction of HIV infected patients. (This finding is at variance with 2009 results reported in Reference (1), though the preferred antiretroviral therapy regimens have changed in the time between these studies).

By contrast, HIV DNA LTR was detected in plasma fractions from all HIV infected patients studied.

The significance of incorporation of some chromosomal DNA sequences in RBC remains to be determined, but it appears to serve as a reliable marker not present in normal individuals. This finding is of practical interest, showing for the first time that all HIV patients tested by the inventor harbor a non-HIV DNA marker, sensitive to antibiotic treatment. Note that the prokaryotic host for this non-HIV DNA marker also appears in normal individuals, and is antibiotic sensitive in both populations, but in HIV-infected individuals, the 400 bp marker is specifically present.

Latent HIV is known to be responsive to cellular redox potential, and is activated by oxidative conditions. Meanwhile, HIV replication is also associated with an oxidative burst, and maturation of the virions requires oxidative (disulfide crosslinking) conditions.

Rickettsiales are known to cause oxidative pathology in their respective hosts, and the related mitochondria are well known for their oxidative metabolism.

This prokaryotic organism is a putative cofactor that activates HIV in vivo, inducing viral replication and enhanced efficiency of infection.

According to one aspect of the invention, a treatment is provided for this prokaryotic organism, such as with doxycycline and ciprofloxacin for 2 weeks or more, in order to reduce at least the metabolic activity of the organism, if not its presence.

Note that during antibiotic treatment, the marker may not be reflective of HIV infection status, and therefore it is preferred that the use of the non-HIV DNA as a marker is assessed prior to antibiotic treatment. If the prokaryotic organism is not completely cleared through extended therapy (or possible reinfection), the marker returns, and therefore post-treatment assessment of the marker assesses both the presence of the HIV infection and the status of the microbial infection. Indeed, since the putative biology for the rickettsiales like organism is such that the presence of human chromosome 1 and 7 sequences are related to the bacteria and not directly dependent on HIV, and since the rickettsiales like organism associated with human chromosome 1 and 7 sequences is presumably independently infectious, it is anticipated that the presence of the rickettsiales like organism associated with human chromosome 1 and 7 sequences is not per se sufficient to determine whether a patient is infected with HIV.

As shown in FIG. 3, the 400 bp sequence can be grown in vitro together with the Rickettsiales-like agent in the cell line HL60. In addition it is also sensitive in vitro to treatment by chloramphenicol at a dose of 200 μg/ml.

FIGS. 1B and 3 indicate that 2 HIV negative individuals (EMK and ELL), in which the 213 bp and 237 bp chromosomal DNA sequences were present, lack the 400 bp sequence, a sequence which is therefore specific to HIV infected patients.

By way of example, and absent definitive proof, the etiology of the 400 bp sequence only in the HIV-infected individuals tested to date might, for example, be due to activity of an HIV-specific enzyme, e.g., HIV reverse transcriptase, acting on a cellular nucleic acid fragment (e.g., an RNA sequence corresponding to the Chromosome 1 DNA), which then gets incorporated, for example as a plasmid, within a commensal rickettsiales-like organism which is found in RBCs. Alternately, the rickettsiales-like organism with the 400 bp sequence is a stable organism, and it is this version that acts as a cofactor for HIV.

Further, the nucleic acids for this rickettsiales-like organism have not been fully sequenced for either HIV-infected or normal populations, and therefore it is not known whether the 400 bp fragment so far identified, is not part of a larger sequence of DNA which may be functional.

It is believed that the 400 bp sequence-containing organism is an HIV cofactor and the 400 bp sequence is part of, or associated with a functional sequence relating to viral replication and/or transmission. Given the biological burden of maintaining the 400 bp sequence and its associated sequences, it is likely that it provides some advantage to the rickettsiales-like organism in HIV infected individuals.

As a putative cofactor for HIV, the activity of this organism would increase the pathogenicity of HIV, for example due to NF-kappa B activation in the patient's cells, resulting in HIV replication. Consistent with this proposal, the rickettsiales-like organism is oxidative, and would induce an oxidative stress, a known activator of NF-kappa B.

The specificity of the 400 bp fragment as a marker for HIV infection (i.e., co-infection) suggests that it gives a selective advantage for the growth of the virus in HIV infected patients.

It is known that HIV infection causes an oxidative stress on the host, but also that replication of the virus requires oxidative conditions for viral DNA transcription and virus maturation. Rickettsiales-like organisms are evolutionarily related to mitochondria, and therefore would be expected to have an oxidative metabolism that produces free radicals, which may explain the tropism for red blood cells which have high levels of glycolysis products, which serve as substrates for oxidative respiration, high levels of oxygen, and a reservoir of glutathione which detoxify free radicals.

The Rickettsiales-like organisms may produce, as a metabolic product, superoxide radical, which can induce oxidative and free radical damage within the RBC, as well as cause ancillary oxidative stress on other organs, such as the liver and lymphocytes.

It has further been found that a low frequency electromagnetic signal is associated with the DNA of the RBC fraction of HIV-infected individuals and not in non-infected individuals, and also not in the 400 bp sequence in a long-term HIV non-progressor (an HIV infected individual who appears to have a natural ability to suppress progression of the HIV infection). This finding might be explained by the fact that the rickettsiales-like organism within an HIV-infected host, including the 400 bp associated sequence, selectively generates free radicals and oxidative stress; these interact with the DNA within the RBC, to generate relatively stable structures that resonate at low frequencies and are thus detectable. The 400 bp associated sequences may, for example, suppress an antioxidant process of the rickettsiales-like organism, thus leading to an increased oxidative environment as compared to rickettsiales-like organisms that do not include the 400 bp associated sequence.

The absence of signal in a non-progressor patient may be due to an immune response of that individual that suppresses the HIV induction of the enhanced oxidative stress, even in the presence of the 400 bp associated sequence.

The RBCs typically have a high concentration of reduced glutathione, so that in an HIV-negative host, the signal is not generated. On the other hand, HIV-infected individuals (other than the non-progressor) have an oxidative stress that reduces glutathione levels in the erythrocytes, and thus permits interaction of the free radicals or other oxidative chemical species with the DNA. This interaction can result in a resonance that is externally measurable by an apparatus, e.g., US Pat. Pub. 2013/0143205, 2013/0217000, 2012/0024701, 2011/0076710, 2011/0027774, 2010/0323391, each of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The apparent eradication of this new agent can be achieved by a complementary treatment of HIV infection, according to the following protocol:

1) HIV infected patients are maintained under ARV treatment until undetectable viral load (<40 copies/ml) in their blood.

2) In addition they receive a strong antibiotic treatment for at least 15 days: 300 mg/day of doxycycline+2×500 mg of ciprofloxacin per day.

If the treatment is well tolerated, it could be further extended, e.g., by several weeks. Other antibiotics, such as narrow spectrum drugs, e.g., ebselen, ebsulfur and related drugs, might also be employed in the therapy. See, WO2007/137255, expressly incorporated herein by reference it its entirety.

If a Herxheimer reaction (also known as the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction) is observed (fever, fatigue), due to an excess release of microbial antigens by the antibiotic treatment, this antibiotic treatment should be reduced or temporarily stopped until the symptoms disappear.

The goal of this antibiotic treatment is to reduce or even abolish the presence of the microbial factor in red blood cells (RBC): this is assessed by the PCR measurements in RBC using:

a) the primers for 16S ribosomal Rickettsiales DNA;

b) the primers for 214 and 237 bp of chromosomes 7 & 1; and/or

c) the primer of 400 bp of chr. 1 (400 bp plus 16S preferred).

The characteristic DNA bands should have decreased by 90%, as measured by quantitative real time PCR. If this reduction is not achieved, a second course of antibiotics should be administered, after a 3 week pause.

3) An antioxidant treatment is given, when the 90% reduction is attained, as follows:

a) Fermented papaya extract (FPP, Osato Research Institute, Japan) 3 sachets of 3 g/day for 3 months;

b) Glutathione/vitamin C “Thyogen®”, Health Maintenance Programs Inc. Elmsford, N.Y., 4 capsules of each 1 gram/day between meals for 3 months. (Start progressively and ramp up to this dose).

Measurements of reduced and oxidized glutathione may be performed before and after treatment.

4) If the antibiotic treatment has not been able to decrease significantly the microbial infection, a third course of (possibly different) antibiotics may be necessary.

But, if the results of treatment 2 (antibiotics) show a significant decrease of the RBC DNA and if the results of treatment 3 (antioxidants) show a significant decrease of oxidative stress, (reduced glutathione back to normal rates), this means that these combined treatments have been able to decrease significantly the microbial infection.

Then one may be justified to discontinue the ARV treatment for one month, a procedure generally considered as harmless for the patient, provided that the ARV treatment is resumed in case of virus load rebound during this period.

The ultimate goal will be achieved when there will be no rebound of the HIV virus upon long term discontinuation of the ARV treatment. The use of immunostimulants (Gc-MAF, combination of cytokines) is also possible for attaining this objective.

Thus, with the help of a restored immune system, a functional eradication of HIV infection will be close.

REFERENCES Each of the Following is Expressly Incorporated by Reference in its Entirety

-   1. L. Montagnier, J. Aissa, C. Lavallee, M. Mbamy, J. Varon, and H.     Chenal, “Electromagnetic detection of HIV DNA in the blood of AIDS     patients treated by antiretroviral therapy”, Interdiscip Sci Comput     Life Sci. 1:245-253 (2009). -   2. Luc Montagnier, Rene Olivier, Catherine Pasquier; Oxidative     Stress in Cancer, AIDS, and Neurodegenerative Diseases (Oxidative     Stress and Disease), CRC Press (1997). -   3. Awodele, Olufunsho, Sunday O. Olayemi, Joseph A. Nwite, and     Titilope A. Adeyemo. “Investigation of the levels of oxidative     stress parameters in HIV and HIV-TB co-infected patients.” The     Journal of Infection in Developing Countries 6, no. 01, pp 79-85     (2011). -   4. Peden, K., Emerman, M., Montagnier, L. “Changes in growth     properties on passage in tissue culture of viruses derived from     infectious molecular clones of HIV-1LAI, HIV-1MAL, and HIV-1ELI”,     Virology 185, 661-672 (1991). -   5. Gillespie, Joseph J., Brayton, Kelly A., Williams, Kelly P.,     Quevedo Diaz, Marco A., Brown, Wendy C., Azad, Abdu F., and Sobral,     Bruno W., “Phylogenomics Reveals a Diverse Rickettsiales Type IV     Secretion System”, Infect Immun.; 78(5): 1809-1823 (2010). 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of detecting presence of an intracellular organism in human erythrocytes having a nucleic acid which when present, is selectively associated with HIV infection, the intracellular organism having at least one DNA sequence which is adapted to be amplified by performing PCR on nucleic acids from enucleated erythrocytes, with primers comprising: 5′-CCT GAG AAG AGA TTT AAG AAC AAA; SEQ ID NO: 001 and 5′-CCA TAT ACT GCT TCT ARY TGC T, SEQ ID NO: 002

the method comprising: collecting a specimen comprising erythrocytes from a human; extracting DNA from within the erythrocytes; selectively amplifying the nucleic acid if present in the extracted DNA; and detecting an amplicon corresponding to the nucleic acid.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a presence of an amplicon indicates coinfection with HIV and a rickettsiales-like organism.
 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising treating a patient having HIV infection, which produces an amplicon from said PCR, with at least one antibiotic, until a PCR amplicon from PCR with the at least one primer is substantially diminished.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the at least one antibiotic comprises a tetracycline class antibiotic targeting 16S RNA of an organism having an amplicon from PCR with the at least one primer.
 5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the at least the antibiotic comprises a fluoroquinolone class antibiotic.
 6. The method according to claim 3, further comprising administering at least one immunostimulant and at least one antioxidant sufficient to increase glutathione levels in human erythrocytes, to induce a Th1 immune response pattern, after the PCR amplicon from PCR with the at least one primer is substantially diminished.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the at least one antioxidant comprises orally administered glutathione.
 8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the immunostimulant is selected from the group consisting of at least one of a microbial product, a botanical extract, and a cytokine.
 9. A method of detecting an intracellular microbe within human erythrocytes, comprising extracting DNA from the human erythrocytes, performing PCR with primers comprising: 5′-CCT GAG AAG AGA TTT AAG AAC AAA, SEQ ID NO: 001 and 5′-CCA TAT ACT GCT TCT ARY TGC T; SEQ ID NO: 002

and detecting an amplicon associated with the PCR.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the amplicon comprises a 16S ribosomal RNA.
 11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising selectively administering at least one antibiotic to a human from which the human erythrocytes originate, selectively dependent on said detection of the amplicon.
 12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising continuing the administering of the at least one antibiotic until the amplicon is diminished, and subsequently administering at least one immunostimulant and at least one antioxidant.
 13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the at least one antibiotic is adapted to suppress growth of at least one microorganism selected from the group consisting of an alpha-proteobacteria, a gamma-proteobacteria, and a rickettsiales-like organism.
 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the at least one antibiotic comprises a tetracycline class antibiotic.
 15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the at least one antibiotic comprises a fluoroquinolone class antibiotic.
 16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising concurrently administering an antiretroviral therapy effective for treatment of HIV infection.
 17. The method according to claim 11, wherein the intracellular microbe has a 16S RNA homologous with at least one alpha- or gamma-proteobacterial organism, the human from which the human erythrocyte is obtained is infected with HIV, further comprising concurrently administering an immunostimulant therapy and an antioxidant therapy in an effective dose to delay detectability of HIV replication in the human by PCR of blood plasma.
 18. A method of detecting microbial DNA associated with enucleated human erythrocytes, comprising: extracting DNA from the enucleated human erythrocytes; performing PCR with primers comprising: 5′-CCT GAG AAG AGA TTT AAG AAC AAA, SEQ ID NO: 001 and 5′-CCA TAT ACT GCT TCT ARY TGC T; SEQ ID NO: 002

and detecting an amplicon from the PCR.
 19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising employing PCR to detect at least a portion of HIV LTR in plasma from a patient from which the enucleated human erythrocytes are derived. 